Charlie Justice (American football)

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For the American politician, see Charlie Justice (politician). For the college football coach, see Charles Justice.

Coordinates: 35°54′26.42506″N 79°2′57.78776″W / 35.9073402944°N 79.0493854889°W / 35.9073402944; -79.0493854889

Charlie Justice

Statue of Justice at the University of North Carolina.
No. 22     
Halfback
Personal information
Date of birth: May 18, 1924(1924-05-18)
Place of birth: Asheville, North Carolina
Date of death: October 17, 2003 (aged 79)
Place of death: Cherryville, North Carolina
High School: Lee H. Edwards High School
Height: 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Weight: 176 lb (80 kg)
Career information
College: North Carolina
NFL Draft: 1950 / Round: 16 / Pick: 201
Debuted in 1950 for the Washington Redskins
Last played in 1954 for the Washington Redskins
Career history
 As player:
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 1954
Games played     43
Carries     266
Rushing yards     1,284
Rushing average     4.8
Receiving yards     962
Touchdowns     10
Stats at NFL.com
Stats at pro-football-reference.com
Stats at DatabaseFootball.com
College Football Hall of Fame

Charles Ronald "Choo-Choo" Justice (May 18, 1924 – October 17, 2003) was an American football halfback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Justice attended and played high school football at Lee H. Edwards High School, where he was a part of two undefeated seasons.[1] He averaged 25 yards per rush his last year in high school.[2] His senior year, his team outscored the opposition 400-6.[3]

[edit] World War II

After high school, Justice spent four years in the Navy in World War II. During that time, he played on the football team at Bainbridge Naval Center.[1]

[edit] College career

After the war, Justice was heavily recruited by both Duke and North Carolina. Being a war veteran, he knew he had no need of a college scholarship. Justice sent a proposal to both universities. Allow him to attend on his G.I. tuition money and give the scholarship to his wife. Only North Carolina accepted this. Thus Justice attended and played college football at the University of North Carolina under Carl Snavely, where he played tailback for four years.[1] Justice was also an active member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity in his years at UNC. While there, he was named an All-American in 1948 and 1949, and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting both years.[1] While at North Carolina, Justice ran or threw for 64 touchdowns and set a team total-offense record of 4,883 yards, which stood until 1994.[4]

He was named the Most Valuable Player in the 1950 College All-Star Game, when he led the college team to a 17-7 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.[1] He ran for 133 yards which was 48 yards more than the entire Eagles Team.[4] He had runs of 33 and 45 years and caught a pass for 40 yards.[5]

During college, Benny Goodman recorded the song "All the Way, Choo Choo."

[edit] Professional career

Justice was drafted in the sixteenth round of the 1950 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins, but his professional career was hampered and ultimately cut short by injuries.

In an exhibition game in 1952 in the Los Angeles Coliseum he rushed 11 times for 199 yards (18.1 average), with runs of 46, 65 and 54 yards. Curiously, his arm was broken arm in the third quarter.[5]

[edit] After football

After football, Justice owned an insurance firm. He and his wife, Sarah, had one daughter. He died in 2003.[4] In 1970, the University of North Carolina dedicated a section of its athletic center in his name, calling it the Charlie Justice Hall of Honor.[1] He was also named one of the all time 70 Greatest Redskins.[6] In 1999, Sports Illustrated named Justice the 14th Greatest North Carolina Sports Figure.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Charlie Justice's College Football HOF profile". College Football Hall of Fame. http://www.collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=40088. Retrieved 2008-08-26. 
  2. ^ Fimrite R (October 15, 1973) A Long Locomotive For Choo Choo Sports Illustrated
  3. ^ a b "The 50 Greatest Sports Figures: North Carolina". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/1999/states/northcarolina/. Retrieved 2008-08-26. 
  4. ^ a b c Goldstein R (October 20, 2003). "Charlie Justice, Football Star Known as Choo Choo, 79". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/20/sports/charlie-justice-football-star-known-as-choo-choo-79.html. Retrieved 2008-08-26. 
  5. ^ a b Richman M (5/15/2009) Flashback: 'Choo Choo' Justice An Electrifying Runner Redskins.com
  6. ^ "History: 70 Greatest Redskins". Washington Redskins. http://www.redskins.com/team/history-70.jsp. Retrieved 2008-08-26. 

[edit] External links

v • d • e
70 Greatest Redskins

21 Terry Allen RB 1995-98 • 41 Mike Bass CB 1969-75 • 20 Cliff Battles B 1932-37 • 33 Sammy Baugh QB 1937-52 • 31 Don Bosseler B 1957-64 • 53 Jeff Bostic C 1980-93 • 4 Mike Bragg P 1968-79 • 80 Gene Brito DE 1951-53, 1955-58 • 43 Larry Brown RB 1969-76 • 77 Bill Brundige DE 1970-77 • 65 Dave Butz DT 1975-88 • 21 Earnest Byner RB 1989-93 • 84 Gary Clark WR 1985-92 • 51 Monte Coleman LB 1979-94 • 53 Al DeMao C 1945-53 • 36 Chuck Drazenovich LB 1950-59 • 35 Bill Dudley RB 1950-51, 1953 • 17 Turk Edwards T 1932-40 • 44 Andy Farkas FB 1938-44 • 37 Pat Fischer CB 1968-77 • 28 Darrell Green CB 1983-2002 • 68 Russ Grimm G 1981-91 • 55 Chris Hanburger LB 1965-78 • 57 Ken Harvey LB 1994-98 • 56 Len Hauss C 1964-77 • 27 Ken Houston S 1973-80 • 70 Sam Huff LB 1964-67, 1969 • 66 Joe Jacoby T/G 1981-93 • 47 Dick James RB 1955-63 • 9 Sonny Jurgensen QB 1964-74 • 22 Charlie Justice RB 1950, 1952-54 • 17 Billy Kilmer QB 1971-78 • 26 Paul Krause DB 1964-67 • 79 Jim Lachey T 1988-95 • 14 Eddie LeBaron QB 1952-53, 1955-59 • 72 Dexter Manley DE 1981-89 • 71 Charles Mann DE 1983-93 • 58 Wilber Marshall LB 1988-92 • 73 Mark May T 1981-89 • 79 Ron McDole DE 1971-78 • 63 Raleigh McKenzie G 1985-94 • 53 Harold McLinton LB 1969-78 • 40 Wayne Millner E 1936-41, 1945 • 49 Bobby Mitchell FL 1962-68 • 30 Brian Mitchell RB 1990-99 • 81 Art Monk WR 1980-93 • 3 Mark Moseley K 1974-86 • 29 Mark Murphy S 1977-84 • 21 Mike Nelms KR 1980-84 • 52 Neal Olkewicz LB 1979-89 • 23 Brig Owens LB 1966-77 • 65 Vince Promuto G 1960-70 • 44 John Riggins RB 1976-79, 1981-85 • 11 Mark Rypien QB 1987-93 • 83 Ricky Sanders WR 1986-93 • 76 Ed Simmons T 1987-93 • 87 Jerry Smith TE 1965-77 • 60 Dick Stanfel G 1956-58 • 74 George Starke T 1973-84 • 72 Diron Talbert DT 1971-80 • 84 Hugh (Bones) Taylor E 1947-54 • 42 Charley Taylor WR 1964-77 • 7 Joe Theismann QB 1974-85 • 67 Rusty Tillman LB 1970-77 • 85 Don Warren TE 1979-92 • 25 Joe Washington RB 1981-84 • 17 Doug Williams QB 1986-89 •

Coaches
George Allen Head Coach 1971-77 • Ray Flaherty Head Coach 1936-42 • Joe Gibbs Head Coach 1981-92 •
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